The New Zealand film industry is anxiously awaiting more details of Donald Trump’s plan to slap 100% tariffs on movies made outside the United States.
The US President said Hollywood was dying a “very fast death” due to the incentives that other countries are using to attract American filmmakers.
A day after the announcement, the president told reporters he would meet with industry officials first to make sure they liked the idea, Reuters reported. The White House said it had not made any final decisions on the tariffs.
Minister Nicola Willis told RNZ some big American films have been made in New Zealand and the Government has supported them with a screen production rebate.
“We have made some big American films here, recently the Marvel film, and we actually do support that. So that film, they spent about $9 million here and we gave them a … rebate of $2 million to reflect the fact that them making a movie here is good for New Zealand and good for supporting our film industry.”
Willis said she wanted to see the film industry continue to thrive.
She said it was too early to see how Trump’s announcement would become policy “but we’ll be working hard to find the detail of that”.
The Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA) said it was still unclear whether Trump’s tariff move is only targeting US movies filmed here or would also penalise New Zealand films wanting to show in the United States.
SPADA president Irene Gardiner said Trump’s statement was “quite confusing”.
“People are adopting very much a wait and see attitude,” she told RNZ.
The president may have been trying to solve the problem of a slump in Hollywood filmmaking, by stopping US companies filming outside the United States, she said. Taken to an extreme conclusion, it would have a massive effect on New Zealand and companies such as Wētā Workshop.
“So it is scary for people, but I feel like there’s a long way for it to shake down before anything happens because I can’t actually see in a practical term how you could do what he’s talking about doing.”
In 2023, New Zealand provided nearly $200m of rebates and incentives for US companies to film here.
The scheme has seen American productions responsible for just over a third of the $3.5 billion generated by the film industry each year.
Film Commission head Annie Murray said the commission was still in the process of speaking with international partners about the implications.
It was too early to say what the tariffs could mean, she said, as it was an evolving situation.
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Government should vigorously oppose the tariffs.
Hipkins said it would be disastrous for New Zealand, as the industry was incredibly important for the country, bringing in millions of dollars a year and generating a lot of well-paying jobs.
He said if the United States’ industry wanted to compete, it should – but imposing punitive trade barriers was not the way forward.
rnz.co.nz
